


Blood-Stained Hands, Blood-Stained Heroes

by elrhiarhodan



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, Forgiveness, Gen, Grief, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6895357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/pseuds/elrhiarhodan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of that fatal dinner party, Harry rushes to the West home and discovers devastation.  There is little comfort he can offer, but he can accept responsibility for his part in this tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood-Stained Hands, Blood-Stained Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> An episode tag for the end of S2.22 - Invincible (and therefore, filled with spoilers).
> 
> A note regarding the location of the Allen house - watching the race between Zoom and Barry, it really does seem as if Barry's childhood home is only a few blocks from the Wests' house, even though the route seemed a bit circuitous.

Harry reluctantly declines the dinner invitation to the Wests.

His head is pounding and his equilibrium is shot, but he insists that Jesse attend because she's been through a lot the past few days (not to mention weeks and months) and deserves to spend some time with friends. And he knows that much as he'd wants to keep her by his side, such obsessive protection will only drive a wedge between them.

And besides, he trusts Joe to keep her safe. And Barry will, too.

But Harry can't stop thinking about Zoom. The monster isn't giving up so easily and he's would certainly be back. And the worry makes his headache even worse. Maybe he should just get in one of the S.T.A.R. Labs vans and go, wonky equilibrium be damned.

He's just about to get into the elevator when his cell phone buzzes. It's Jesse's ringtone. His heart starts to beat double time and his palms are so sweaty that his phone almost slips out of his hands.

"Sweetheart?"

 _"Daddy!"_ Her voice is a scream, a sob.

Harry thinks that he'd give everything he owns to never hear that terrified tone again. "What's the matter?" He's trying not to let panic overtake him.

_"Zoom's back – he took Barry's father."_

Harry closes his eyes as both relief and guilt swamped him. _His daughter's safe_. "I'll be right there." He can't wait for the elevator and runs down the stairs to the parking garage.

_"Daddy, I'm so scared."_

"Don't …" No – stops himself. Telling her not to panic is the wrong thing. "Honey, is Wally there?"

_"Yeah."_

"Let me talk to him." There's a bit of a delay as Jesse follows his instructions.

_"Um, hello?"_

Harry can hear that Wally is as freaked as his daughter. "This is Jesse's father."

_"The guy who looks like – "_

Harry cuts him off. "Yes – that's not relevant. You need to protect my daughter. Keep her safe until I get there. Can you do that?" He knows what he's asking is impossible. No one can protect anyone from Zoom, but he figures that Wally will keep Jesse from doing something stupid.

 _"Yes, of course._ The boy's voice is stronger, more mature. 

"Good. I'll be there as soon as I can."

_"I'll keep her safe, I promise."_

"Thank you." Harry means it.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It takes far too long to get from the labs to the West house – the meta-humans from his world have done a good job of creating havoc. Too many roads are closed, there are too many detours and diversions and by the time he gets near the street where the Wests lived, the whole block was closed and lit up with flashing lights from a dozen police and ambulance vehicles. He had to park a dozen blocks away and he runs towards the West house.

Halfway there, Harry slows down. 

In front of an unfamiliar house is a gurney with a body on it. A body in a black plastic bag. A part of him holds out hope that this isn't Zoom's work but something else entirely. Then he sees Joe West talking with Captain Singh, whom he recognized from news footage, and hope dies. 

Even from this distance, he can see the flashing lights reflect in the tears on Joe's face.

Harry keeps his head down and his hat pulled low – the last thing he needs is another mis-identification.

He crosses the street and Joe looks up and spots him. He said something to the captain and comes over.

"What happened?" To his ears, his voice sounds harsher than usual.

Joe wipes his face and shakes his head. "We couldn't move – Zoom just grabbed Henry and ran, Barry followed. But he didn't go far – just – " Joe gestures to the unfamiliar house, "to Barry's childhood home."

Harry understands exactly what Zoom has done and why. Killing Henry in front of Barry, at the place where his mother had died, would destroy Barry. Would break him.

"Where is he?"

"Iris took him back to the house. He's – " Joe scrubs his face, unable to continue.

Harry nods. "I need to see Jesse." _And Barry, too._

"Right, of course." Joe lifts the crime scene tape and tells an officer that he – Harry – is cleared to go through. 

But before Harry can duck under the yellow tape, Joe stops him. "There's something else."

Harry doesn't think it's at all possible for more dread to fill him. "What?"

"Cisco – he vibed something. About your world. He said he saw the end of your world – that it was breaking in half."

Yes, it is possible to feel more dread. He nods again, or maybe his whole body is shaking. "I'll – I'll talk to him."

Joe looks at him and turns away when an officer calls his name. Harry walks the few blocks to the West house and his feet are like lead. He knowns this feeling, he's made this walk before. When the police came and told him about Tess' accident and he had to go to the morgue to identify her. This is what it felt like.

The door is open and there's light and noise and warmth, because this is a family home. But the light is too bright and the noise is hushed and the warmth has a strange – almost acrid – odor to it. Fear and grief – he knows those all too well.

Jesse runs to him and he holds her tight. He wants to tell her she's never leaving his sight again but he can't even speak. He sees Barry sitting on the couch, Iris holding him. His eyes are vacant, his hands resting limp on his knees. There's blood caked on his hands, in his fingernails, smeared across his cheek. His breathing's shallow. He's in shock. 

Jesse pulls away. From the outer edge of his peripheral vision, Harry sees her go to Wally West and the boy drapes a protective arm around her. _Good_. He'll talk with Wally later about what will be permitted, but it's enough that he keeps Jesse safe.

Cisco looks like shit and Harry remembers what Joe told him. He's meets Cisco's eyes – they are shadowed, as if he's still caught in his vision. But Cisco nods at him, tilts his head towards Barry and retreats.

Harry goes to the kitchen, finds a clean towel and runs it under warm water and brings it back out to the living room. He kneels in front of Barry and takes one of his hands and starts to wipe away the blood. Barry struggles but Iris soothes him and he lets Harry work.

"I'm sorry." He's not sure if Barry hears him.

But he does. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. Everything – it's like you said. Zoom coming back here – it's on me. My father's dead because of me."

Harry hears the echo of his bitter condemnation. Was that only a few weeks ago? Ten days at the most? He'd been so angry. Jesse was gone, he'd been forced to do something so unspeakable – he looks up at Wally West, who's still hovering protectively over his daughter, and the boy's face is a sickly gray. He realizes that despite everything, Wally hadn't known who the Flash was until just now.

Barry keeps blaming himself and Iris keeps telling him no, it's not his fault, but Barry's not listening.

Harry keeps wiping Barry's hands, working the now cool cloth into the cuticles, the delicate skin between Barry's fingers. Barry's hands are shaking, or maybe it's his own hands and he clasps them tight, stills them.

"Listen to me, Allen." He puts all the command he can muster into his tone. "This is _not_ your fault."

Barry finally looks at him. "It is – I insisted on reopening the breach. Zoom never would have come here if I hadn't. None of this would have happened if I left everything alone."

"No. No. No." He wants to shout his denial, but he doesn't have the strength. "You want to blame someone, blame me." He hears someone gasp – it might be Jesse, it could be Wally. "I created Zoom and I spent years ignoring the problem. All you wanted to do was make everything right. Fix my errors, the result of my arrogance and bad judgment." He repeats himself, "If you need someone to blame, blame me."

Barry finally looks at him. "Not this – this is not your fault. I thought I was invincible. That the universe was with us, with _me_. The universe doesn't care who lives or dies. It was all a delusion." Barry rubs at the tears on his cheeks and smears the blood that still stains his face.

Harry has no words, no comfort to give, but he finds a clean section of towel and wipes away the blood.

If only he could wash away the stains on his own soul so easily.

__

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me at my tumblr [Obscene Circus Ponies](http://elrhiarhodan.tumblr.com/), and on my old school (and much beloved) [LiveJournal](http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/) account.


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